


A kiss from a rose in the dark

by LadyLigeia07



Category: What Does the Fox Say? (Webcomic)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 12:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21410518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLigeia07/pseuds/LadyLigeia07
Summary: A tale of love.
Relationships: Baek Seju/ Do Won
Kudos: 12





	A kiss from a rose in the dark

A kiss from a rose in the dark

Once upon a time, along the Jeju’s island coast in a lighthouse built in solid stone, a widower keeper had a young and beautiful daughter named Wo. She was sixteen years old and adored going wandering around the near seashore. She would wait until the sunset to get near the sea because the sea was immensely fascinating at that magical moment. She would go down the steep and rocky promontory to admire the waters, which had those golden and red tones she loved, the touching view evoked in her memories of old stories of tenderness and love. Near the sea, she used to find a moment of peace to her lonely soul and the sea seemed to be her silent and most caring companion. She was having such a hard moment because her inner solitude was so palpable that her peers considered it a sign of dark and unhappy fate.

One night, when she was walking on the soft, white sand, she heard a voice calling for her. She looked around and couldn’t see anybody. She listened to that voice again but this time it was accompanied by a suffocated whimper.

“Won, please, help me!”

Among the fragrant and yellow bushes of canola flowers, she saw a white figure. She went close to it and widened her eyes when she found a beautiful mermaid in front of her. She was naked from the waist to the shoulders, her splendid tail had the colors of the sea: gold and silver, blue and turquoise. The creature had a bleeding wound on her right upper arm. Her red hair was covering her face.

“What happened to you?” the girl asked concerned.

“It was a fisherman,” the creature replied. “He hurt me with the knife he uses to gut the fish when he captured me by mistake in his net. When he saw me, he feared I might put a spell on him and he cut the net fast to free me. By doing so, he wounded me. In my attempt to find some help, I dragged myself this far, hoping to find someone who would help a mermaid in troubles.”

“I’m not a doctor,” replied Won, “and I don’t know what kind of medicine I should use to treat you.”

“There’s a tree among the pines in the woods near this place. Take the path with pebbles that shine like silver under the moonlight. After a while, you will find a magic tree with red flowers. It has a hole in the middle. The mud accumulated there after the rain cures mermaid’s wounds. Bring that to me and some fresh water to drink, too. I beg you.”

The girl obeyed diligently, and after going back home to pick up a bottle full of water and some bread, she went to the tree that the mythical creature had indicated her. She put some mud in an empty can she had found at home. She had brought with her a basket with handles to collect everything, too.

Suddenly, the moon got covered by dark clouds and she found it very hard to find her way back to the red haired mermaid. Finally, she managed to find the right path and when she was by the creature’s side again, she applied thoroughly the wet mud on her wound after cleaning it with a white handkerchief. The wound edges seemed to close instantly after she had covered the area with soft, magic mud. She helped the creature to sit down by putting her arms around her fine waist. She helped her to drink from the bottle and gave her some bread to eat.

The night gotten suddenly dark didn’t allow Won to see well the face of the creature, but she could distinguish the regular lines of her face in the shadows.

“I’ll be grateful to you forever,” the mermaid said.

“Tell me your name,” replied Won with a soft voice.

“My name is Seju and I’m a Princess of the Sea.”

After saying this, the creature caressed her cheek. Her fingers went near her nose and the girl smelled the salty and floral fragrance of her skin.

“You are so pretty,” the mermaid said. “Just like your sweet mother.”

Won widened her eyes in disbelief.

“Did you ever meet my mother?”

“Many years ago, she went into the sea after the sunset. She fainted after feeling a sudden pain in her chest. I saved her from drowning. I knew she would be unable to remember me when I laid her down on the white sand. Anyway, after that day, I used to follow her when she came to the shore to take a walk near the sunset. She couldn’t see me in the dark while swimming near the coast. However, saving a mortal allow us mermaids to create a connection between that person’s mind and ours. I could read her mind and be close to her soul more than a lover could have ever done. I could feel her joy as well as her pain and despair. This is the reason I knew she had died after giving birth to you. The day after her death, I saw your father out of your house carrying her coffin with the help of other people. A priest carrying a wooden cross and wearing a white robe was ahead of them. We, creatures of the sea, cannot go near the ministers of the Christian God or near His church. I remember that I cried and suffered a lot while following them unseen along the coastline until they disappeared from my sight.”

Won recalled something about her early childhood. His father, black hair and mustache, had spoken about her mother one afternoon. She remembered his words full of pain and regret for not being able to take care of her properly, she had had a difficult pregnancy and there was not enough money to take her to the best doctors on the island. Won reminded that they were sitting in front of the kitchen table in their home next to the lighthouse. She could see the place as if it were yesterday: the roughly chiseled wooden furniture, the chairs and a blue vase of flowers on the table, red flowers similar to roses in their full bloom. In that instant, she remembered the sacred tree in the woods and then her father’s words when he noticed Won was looking at the flowers. “Your mother loved these,” he had said.

“Now, you have saved me,” said Seju, “as I once did with your dear mother. You and she had the same kind of enthralling and tender beauty.” After saying this, she kissed Won on the lips. She smelled the mermaid’s intense floral fragrance and she tasted the honeyed flavor of her crimson lips.

The clouds covering the moon melted away and the girl saw the silver, full moon. She closed her eyes in a sudden rapture of pleasure as she could listen to Seju’s melodic voice singing a soft lullaby for her. She opened her eyes for an instant to see the mermaid’s lovely face. Her beauty was enchanting like the beauty of the Moon Goddess she had listened about in the fables of their region.

“I want you to remember me,” she whispered in the girl’s ear. “The kiss of a Sea Princess is a seal of eternal love. My heart will be yours forever. No matter how many years will pass and even when you’ll get older you’ll be able to remember me because our souls will be like one. I’ll be here whenever you need someone to rely on and comfort you. You’ll never feel alone anymore.”

**Author's Note:**

> Music: Kiss from a rose (Seal).


End file.
